Imbibe some Christmas spirit along with Belgium's traditional booze

I don’t put up a Christmas tree, host a holiday party or buy gifts. It has nothing to do with frugality or my religious beliefs but rather a strong desire to escape it all and head for warmer climes. In my defence I do contribute to Christmas charities, burn Thymes’ Frasier Fir candle starting the middle of November and program the Christmas Carol station into my car radio. I think this more than proves I am not a grinch.

And yet my friends seem utterly surprised when I tell them I’m joining our mutual friend Melanie on an A-Rosa Cruise to sample the Christmas markets of Germany in late November. They joke that the entire joyous experience will be wasted on me. I set out for Frankfurt to prove them wrong.

A-Rosa offers two extraordinary cruises to enjoy the season. Both originate in Frankfurt though one is an eight-night Rhine Christmas Market cruise that leaves in early December and the other is a 14-night cruise on the Danube that leaves later and celebrates New Year’s Eve on board.

Every December, Christmas Villages spring up in many cities in Europe. You’ll see Ferris wheels, glittering lights, antique carousels and literally hundreds of wooden chalets lining the streets selling all kinds of food, grogs, wines, spirits of all sorts and little gift items.

Celebrating its 25th year, the Village de Noel de Liege in the French speaking Wallonia region is the oldest, longest running (from Nov. 30 to Dec. 30 in 2012) and one of the largest in Belgium, attracting 1.5 million visitors a year. Located in a huge pedestrian zone, there’s also a skating rink and towering toboggan slide as well as the Big Wheel and about 200 wooden chalets filled with treats. While I waited for the crowds to arrive I started my night at the very popular Maison du Pèkèt.

Pèkèt is the name for the local genevers, grain based traditional spirits of Belgium. The Maison has literally dozens of pèkèt. The gentlest, all made in house, have 20% alcohol, real fruit puree in them and lots of sugar. The dry versions of pèkèt, an acquired taste, with 31 to 39% alcohol are much more obviously boozy.

The deadliest of all are the Pèkèt flambé. They are 40% alcohol, come in flavours such as cinnamon or violet and are served flaming with a straw accompaniment. The goal is to suck it all up within a minute so the flame doesn’t melt the straw. Maison du Pèkèt of course also has a stall in the Christmas Village where they generally sell 100 bottles of their wild genevers in just one night. People really get into the spirit in this city.

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